The sunny sea-side city of Rishon LeZion hosted the 9th edition of the Israel Junior International as part of Badminton Europe’s Junior Circuit. Players from 30 countries were greeted with spring-like weather and a perfect setting to show their best.
In the men’s single,s 3rd seed Dennis Koppen from the Netherlands met the 8th seed Giovanni Toti of Italy in their first final of 2018. The Italian fueled up after beating 2nd seed Zach Russ of England. In the first set, Toti dominated the court winning 21-9.
But Koppen came back in to the game with a thrilling win in a very close second set, winning 21-23 and sending the match to a deciding third set. After 48 minutes, it was the Dutchman who ended on top with a 16-21 win in the third set, winning his first ever Badminton Europe Junior Circuit title.
Defending champion retained her title
Indian shuttler Purva Barve, seeded 4th, returned to defend her women’s dingles title from last year, and had to fight hard to do so. In the final, she met the 3rd seed, Anastasiia Pustinskaia from Russia in a three-set dual which lasted more than one hour. In the end, it was Barve who retained her title winning 21-19, 19-21, 21-13 in 66 minutes.
But Pustinskaia did not return home without a title as she won the mixed-doubles title with her partner Dmitriy Panarin from Kazakhstan. The 2nd seeded duo kept a clean sheet as they won the title without dropping a set on their way. In the final, they beat the 1st seeded duo of Hristomira Popovska and Iliyan Stoynov from Bulgaria; 26-24, 21-13.
Final Results
Men’s singles - Dennis Koppen (NED) vs Giovanni Toti (ITA): 9-21, 23-21, 21-16
Women’s singles - Purva Barve (India) vs Anastasiia Pustinskaia (Russia): 21-19,19-21,21-13
Mixed doubles - Anastasiia Pustinskaia & Dmitriy Panarin (Russia/ Kazakhstan) vs Hristomira Popovska and Iliyan Stoynov (Bulgaria ); 26-24, 21-13
Men’s doubles - Szymon Stokfisz & Wiktor Trecki (Poland) vs Stanislav Proskura Russia & Mikhail Shepyrev (Russia): 21-15, 21-9
Women’s doubles - Maria Delcheva & Petra Polanic (Bulgaria/Slovenia) vs Vlada Gynga & Hristomira Popovska (Moldova/Bulgaria): 21-19, 17-21, 21-12
Find all the results by clicking here.